Message in Black Lives Matter Solidarity

The Mir Centre at Selkirk College stands in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. We denounce police brutality and honour the courage of those who exercise their right to protest in the face of considerable risk. We shine a light on the impressive resilience, discipline, and love they continue to demonstrate each day.

We acknowledge anti-Black racism as a specific form of prejudice and discrimination that has permeated Canadian society and institutions through enslavement and colonization. We pledge to recognize, resist, and unlearn anti-Black racism, and to help dismantle the structures and barriers that perpetuate all forms of racism, oppression, and marginalization. Such are the minimum conditions for building cultures of peace.

Specifically, we commit ourselves to the telling of honest histories, to self-examination, and to growth. We commit to welcoming, listening to, and amplifying the voices of those who do not yet feel heard and equal in society. We commit to fostering dialogue that can bridge our differences and affirm our common humanity. We further commit to accepting criticism, wherever and whenever we fall short of our ideals, and to learning how we may do better.

We will not be complacent, nor silent; we will speak up and speak out. We lean into the responsibility we hold to co-create a future of racial justice for all.